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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277832">Highschool Sucks and You Do Too</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echo_Rosavel/pseuds/Echo_Rosavel'>Echo_Rosavel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Texts, Emotional Baggage, Family Issues, Partying, Unresolved Emotional Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:21:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277832</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echo_Rosavel/pseuds/Echo_Rosavel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After his parents inevitable divorce, Ranboo gets used to his new life in a new town, in a new school, and new family members as well. From the first day alone Ranboo can see that this place has a world of it's own. The world of college parties, highschool drama, unspoken rivalries, and a whole bunch of emotional issues. The fact these are highschool students is the icing on the already burnt cake.<br/>Despite how messy things may get Ranboo can't help but feel like he's finally got people who can understand him, or at the very least know how to listen.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>126</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ranboo never really had the best relationship with his parents. He wasn’t physically abused or any of the sort, they just never really got along together. He never seen them openly express affection towards each other at all compared to his friend’s parents. Since they were almost always bickering he grew up having to comfort one or the other whenever their fights made them upset. He grew up learning to stay quiet and listen, never causing problems, but never taking sides on them either. So when his parents sat him down and told him of their pending divorce he wasn’t all that surprised. The fact that he was mostly going to stay with his mother during the school year and with his father during the summer didn’t upset him.<br/>
Hardly anything made him upset nowadays. He wasn’t upset when he moved to his mother’s hometown. Not when he had to leave his friends and family behind. Not when his mother started seeing some other man. Not when he soon became his new step-dad. He especially wasn’t upset when he took the liberty of trying to bond with his new “son”.<br/>
He wasn’t upset. How could he be? His mother from what he could tell seemed to enjoy this new path in life. She was still his mother who worried and cared for him. The same could be said for his father. So when she sat him down in the living room with his step-dad and explained the new school he was gonna attend he sat and he listened.<br/>
One thing that was hard to get used to at first was the fact that his step-dad was rich. The new school he was enrolled in just so happened to have been a private one. A quite expensive private school from the looks of the pamphlet he received on his tour there. As a kid who mostly grew up in a small middle-class family he was somewhat taken aback. Besides the expensive new school he now had step-siblings who were younger than him. Having younger siblings was a weird experience to say the least. He was so used to being an only child that he often forgot it wasn’t just him and his parents in the house.<br/>
Overall they seemed nice. He often wondered how’d the family of three spent their days before they had become a family of five. His new sisters for the most part, left him to his own devices and would sometimes stop by his room to see what he was up to. His step-dad tried to get him into sports like football and soccer which he ended up taking up just to appease him. The last thing he wanted was for him to think he hated him. He didn’t hate him or newfound sisters. He just sometimes finds himself feeling empty of the sorts. He got the nagging feeling that things shouldn’t be as lighthearted as they are. For a kid with divorce and now remarried parents, he was doing just fine.<br/>
Or at the very least, as fine as people expected him to be in a situation like his own.<br/>
He didn’t complain at all that was changing, in partial because of the fact everything seemed so surreal. As if one wrong move and the walls would come crumbling down to show him a cruel reality. Ranboo just simply played the role of an indifferent son. Just because things didn’t turn out the way he had expected doesn’t mean he had a right to complain. Far from it to be fair.<br/>
Ranboo’s first day at his new school was just around the corner. As a surprise his biological parents gifted him a brand new car. He thought this was a bit too extreme as a first day of school gift but accepted it either way when they didn’t back down. His step-father gifted him his own credit card which had no limit set. This of course was forwarded by questionable looks from him to his father. After that ordeal he felt it strange to not call him dad seeing as he was so willing to spend money to make him happy.<br/>
The whole ordeal just made Ranboo feel the need to be happy for the way things were. This was his new status quo. He kept in mind of possible things he could do that would mean less time being at home. Luckily for him, school starting up again would mean he’d had to spend less time with family and more time studying or being with friends.<br/>
The night before the first day of school Ranboo layed in bed and just thought of the events leading up to that day. A part of him was excited, while another was anxious. He didn’t know what to expect. He knew absolutely no one, and he wasn’t very confident in his social skills enough to be at ease about his first day. All he could do was imagine scenarios of the day that will soon arrive as he slowly drifted himself to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. It's Tommy innit?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ranboo meets TommyInnit aka Tommy Minecraft. The boy seems rather mysterious and seems to hold a sour reputation in school. Nevertheless, Ranboo takes the liberty to get to know this kid despite a not so great first impression. They seem to have become friends fairly quickly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Merry Christmas! This chapter is a lot longer than the previous one and I'm planning all other chapters to be long too.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning Ranboo woke early to his alarm sounding off effectively making him sit up to turn it off. He checked to see the time. It was 7:10 in the morning. He was running a bit late but he didn’t mind. He quickly grabbed the neatly folded clothes he prepared the night before and headed for the shower. Fifteen minutes later he was dressed and headed down the stairs to meet with his family. He grabbed his backpack that didn’t have much besides school supplies, his wallet, phone, and hydroflask. When he entered the dining room he found that his father had already left for work and his mother was just about to leave as well. From the corner of his eye he saw his sisters quietly eating while watching some channel on the tv screen that was mounted to a wall. As he approached his mother she hugged him tight, kissed him on the cheek and told him to have fun on his first day at school. Before he had time to respond she was out the door and Ranboo was left standing. He stood there for a while before choosing to take a banana to eat on his way to school. He bid his sisters farewell and headed out towards his car.<br/>
Of course since Ranboo was sixteen, that meant he was legally allowed to drive a car. A privilege and life skill he was glad he had. He used to take either of his parents' cars for a ride out on town while listening to music on the radio. Ranboo took his time driving to school, focusing a lot of his energy to vibing to whatever music was playing. By the time he parked his car in student parking and walked up to the school gates the bell had rung signaling for students to head to class. Ranboo was in no particular rush, and by the looks of it neither were the other students. He casually walked in noting the stares he got from some students as he walked past them. He paid no mind, or at least he tried not too. Despite his looks Ranboo wasn’t all that great with social interaction. Some might even say he’s a bit of a pushover. They weren’t wrong; he really had no backbone at all. So much so that when a blonde boy a few inches shorter than him stopped him in the hallway and asked him loads of questions he answered.<br/>
“Hey you tall guy. I’ve never seen you before, are you new?” the boy asked him.<br/>
Ranboo made eye contact with the boy and answered, “Yeah I am. How’d you know?”<br/>
“The school sends out letters revolving around the new school year. I’m sure you should have gotten one too. This time around they wrote of the welcoming of a new incoming student,” the boy told him with a studious gaze.<br/>
Ranboo couldn’t help but feel like the boy was somehow studying his every move. “Oh really? My parents never told me anything about that. Guess that’s why people were staring.” he said in a somewhat nervous voice.<br/>
The blonde looked at him and pondered for a minute. “Hey, just how tall are you?” he finally asked.<br/>
Ranboo looked at him and bluntly told him, “I’m 6’6 why do you ask?”<br/>
The boy stared him down in shock, “No fucking way, you’re lying right? I’m 6’3!”<br/>
Ranboo just stared at the boy. “So….why is that important?”<br/>
The blonde looked irritated but responded, “Just how old are you? Were you born before or after April 9th 2004?”<br/>
Ranboo thought for a second then quickly responded, “Before….”<br/>
The blonde looked almost relieved. “Wait so you're younger than me...right?” he asked.<br/>
Ranboo shook his head, “No...that means I’m older than you.”<br/>
The blonde’s smile dropped just as quickly as it had formed. “What the fuck!? Why would you say that you bastard!” he loudly yelled.<br/>
“Woah there calm down kid! Don’t get mad because I’m older than you, it's literally not something I can control!” he yelled back holding his hands up for defense.<br/>
The blonde didn't stick around to hear what he had to say. He rudely shoved Ranboo out of the way before turning the corner and disappearing from sight. Ranboo just stood trying to process what had just happened. Eventually he shrugged it off as something he had done to upset the man. Without thinking too much into it Ranboo turned and headed straight to his first class. As the first few classes rolled around Ranboo became a lot less tense walking around school. He was an incoming freshman, and so were a lot of other kids in his class. Everyone was so worried about meeting up with friends or thinking about other things that not many people paid mind to Ranboo. This of course, worked in his favor. Ranboo was having a blast experiencing highschool life without anyone giving him shit for being new in town. He did think back to the incident that occurred that morning. He just wondered why the blonde kid got so upset upon hearing his height and age.<br/>
When lunchtime rolled around Ranboo was surprised to find people actually inviting him over to their table. Seeing as he was the new kid he gladly took them up on their offers to eat lunch with them. He chatted with kids as he waited in the lunch line. This was all he could have hoped for. A nice quiet school life with friends that could distract him from worrying about his home life. At some point in the conversation he was having he happened to spot the same kid he bumped into that morning. The other students followed his gaze as he stared a bit too long at the boy. It didn’t take too long for them to start telling him all about the kid. Ranboo took everything they said about him with a grain of salt, because by the way they talked about him it seemed they didn’t know him personally. From what they had told him the kid was named Tommy. The infamous Tommy Minecraft was eating all alone. The students that were spilling all they knew about him described him as annoying, loud, clingy, and having an awful personality. Ranboo being the quiet kid he was, just listened to all they had to say. He kept a poker face throughout the conversation, something he learned to do when hearing what others had to say. He didn’t like the fact these kids were telling this kid’s life story to a complete stranger. They didn’t even bother to try to be quiet. In fact, they were making it quite obvious they wanted the kid to hear them.<br/>
When Ranboo finally got his lunch he told the group of students he was gonna see for himself just what kind of person this Tommy kid was. With that he bid them goodbye and casually walked over to the kid and sat right in front of him. The teen just looked up at Ranboo as he began to eat his lunch in the blissful silence. It didn’t take long for Tommy to begin talking to him.<br/>
“Why are you here? Aren’t you gonna go sit with your little friends over there?” he pointed to the same group he was with before. They were sitting a couple tables away giving a couple glances to the table Ranboo was in.<br/>
Ranboo looked to where he was pointing and then glanced back at him. “I don’t want to get too close to people who are willing to talk about someone’s whole life story to a complete stranger.”<br/>
Tommy looked right at him. “Even if what they say might be true?” he asked him.<br/>
“Especially, because more often than not people tend to exaggerate the finer details” he replied.<br/>
Tommy chuckled at his response. “You're a weird one aren’t you?” he said.<br/>
“I do what I can,” he replied back.<br/>
They spent the rest of lunch making small talk. Ranboo learned that half of what the kids told him was true. Tommy was straightforward about the whole ordeal. He admitted that he did have a bit of an anger problem and he apologized for that morning. Tommy told Ranboo that a lot of people thought he was annoying and loud as hell. Ranboo noticed that Tommy made it seem like the comments never really hurt him. He wasn’t sure just how much Tommy was willing to share about himself so he stayed quiet on the matter. From what he could tell Tommy was pretty chill for the most part. He only seemed like a loud ass teenager when the situation called for it. It was almost as if he was the way he was on purpose. As if he was some sort of tv personality playing a role in a show. Ranboo hadn’t known Tommy for that long so he made sure not to jump to any conclusions just yet. He was just glad that Tommy was even willing to talk to him to begin with. They exchanged numbers just right before they headed to their next classes and the rest of the day Ranboo spent his time secretly texting Tommy.<br/>
By the end of the week Ranboo could safely conclude he made a new friend. An accomplishment he ecstatically shared with his family during dinner time. He liked when he shared common interest with his family. His family congratulated at first but after a while they usually stopped him to talk about other things. When Ranboo first noticed this he began to look forward to dinner times a lot less. He still shared parts of what goes on in his life, but it was more concentrated on what his family wanted to hear. His father would almost always ask Ranboo what kind of sports he was looking into doing. He was adamant about his son doing a sport especially if he thought he would be good at it. Ranboo was a mediocre player but his dad was dead set on making his son a star player. His mother just encouraged him as his dad commented things like “Imagine being a star player!” or “Just say the word and your father and I will do our best to make it come true!”<br/>
It made Ranboo uncomfortable to say the least. He didn’t enjoy sports like his dad did and he didn’t like the idea of him spending a lot of time with him because of it. Ranboo thought he could better use that time for his dad to ask what things his sisters wanted to do. Unlike him they liked sports and Ranboo knew they would definitely love to get lessons to get better at them. So whenever his dad talked about sports during dinner Ranboo tried to diverge the conversation from him to his sisters. Sometimes it worked out well other times his parents didn’t budge. Eventually, Ranboo gave in to their expectations and told them he’d try out for the football team as well as checking out the other sports the school offered. This got his parents to shut up and thankfully now focus on his sisters and what sports they were going to try out.<br/>
Once dinner was over Ranboo quietly went up to his room and worked on his assignments. Ranboo wasn’t crazy smart but he easily understood things and often finished his work before anyone else could. He was busy filling out blanks to an assigned worksheet when he received a call from none other than Tommy. This was the first time he received a call from the boy as they usually conversed through text. He quickly picked up his phone and answered the call. As soon as he did the first thing he heard was the sound of uneven breaths. What the hell was he doing? Ranboo thought.<br/>
“Hey Ranboo sorry for the unexpected call…” Tommy began.<br/>
“No problem what’s up? You seem tired. Did you go for a run?” he asked him.<br/>
Tommy hesitated for a moment. “No, I just kinda ran out of my house…” he eventually replied.<br/>
“You ran out of your house? Why? Did something happen?” Ranboo asked discerningly.<br/>
“Look I don’t really want to talk about it right now…..but do you think I can stay over at your house for the time being? I kinda ran out without my wallet.”<br/>
Ranboo looked at the time. It was around 8 p.m. and the night was getting cold. He couldn’t leave him out in the cold. “Alright you can stay at my place. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up before you freeze to death,” he answered.<br/>
“Thanks Ranboo. I’m at----” he replied.<br/>
With that Ranboo ended the call, got up and headed downstairs. He grabbed his keys from a hook near the front door and put on his jacket making sure to grab a blanket for Tommy. His mother just so happened to have spotted him and asked what he was doing. He told her he was gonna go pick up a friend and asked if they could stay over. He didn’t give her many details but just told her it was the friend he mentioned before. His mother didn’t ask too many questions but just told him to hurry up if he was already waiting for him. Ranboo took her advice and quickly drove to where Tommy said he was waiting. He was practically on the verge of breaking the speed limit trying the get there as fast as he could. As he turned the corner he spotted Tommy on a bench hunched over seeming concerned for something. Ranboo slowed down the car and eventually stopped right in front of Tommy. Once he stood to a halt Tommy got in and sat down making sure to buckle his seat belt.<br/>
“Thanks again for helping me. I know I might be a pain in the ass right now, but I really appreciate it,” Tommy quietly told him.<br/>
Ranboo continued on his way home, “No problem don’t worry about it. Sometimes you just gotta take a moment away from everything to cool off on things.”<br/>
“You sure got that right,” Tommy said.<br/>
“Got you a blanket. Thought you might need it since it’s a bit cold out.” he said.<br/>
Tommy looked at the blanket he was handed. “It’s a pity blanket, but I’ll take it. I was getting a bit cold,” he said as he wrapped himself with the blanket. He took a hand to his cheek and looked out the window as Ranboo drove by the neighborhood.<br/>
The drive back to Ranboo’s house was quiet. No one made a sound, and the neighborhood seemed to be in a quiet slumber. It was almost therapeutic in a way.<br/>
Tommy got out of the car as Ranboo turned off the engine. They both made their way inside and went straight to the living room. Tommy just sat in a chair and stayed quiet as Ranboo introduced him to his family. He smiled and waved as they welcomed him into their house. Apart from the sudden self-invitation to Ranboo’s house his parents never really asked why Tommy was at their home in the first place. That just made Ranboo confused as to why. No one in this town seemed to ask many questions. To some degree ranboo liked this fact, but there was another part of him that felt it was somewhat problematic. Either way he and Tommy chatted the night away. Due to it being a Friday night Ranboo’s parents allowed for him and Tommy to stay up late. They decided to call it a night when the clock hit 1 a.m. and the rest of the family fell asleep. Ranboo showed Tommy the guest room and exchanged goodnights as they parted ways into their separate quarters.<br/>
Ranboo clocked out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Boy was that week a long one.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ranboo and Tommy have a bit of a talk. Wilbur shows up to pick up Tommy much to his dismay. At school Tommy ends up getting into some deep shit resulting in him getting even more of a bad rep. as a public safety threat. Ranboo worries for Tommy so he plans to have a heart to heart with him. Due to Tommy being in trouble at home with his father, Ranboo has to resort to sneaking into his place to talk to him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ranboo woke up the next morning at around 10 a.m. Since it was the weekend he didn’t really care too much when he woke up. His usual routine would have him lounge around at home all day reading about the sports magazines his dad gives him. Ranboo was hoping for other plans to be set into place. Since he was still technically “new” in town he was hoping Tommy would be kind enough to show him around. On the plus side if Tommy agreed, it meant he didn’t have to try to show enthusiasm to reading some dumb sports magaines. Of course, Ranboo had some knowledge of what buildings were where, but that was because he’s gone there with family. Walking around town with Tommy would not only be something fun friends do, but it also allowed for Ranboo to see what areas other teens his age go to for fun. </p>
<p>   With a clear objective in mind, Ranboo set out to Tommy’s room. Once there he knocked on the door twice before peeking inside. Once Tommy signaled him an “ok” to come in, he did. He enthusiastically greeted the blonde who looked like complete shit. Now was probably not the best time to ask him for any favors. So instead, Ranboo opted to just chillax in his house until Tommy felt like leaving. He didn’t think asking for a sudden tour was a good idea mainly because Tommy seemed like he was mentally exhausted and needed time to relax. Ranboo thought of things that they could do at his place to let Tommy relax. Relax. What do people do to relax? He thought for a moment as an idea popped in his head. Though the idea of it seemed silly he was willing to try it out. So he went for it. The worst that could happen was Tommy deny it completely and he’d be back to the drawing board. </p>
<p>“Hey Tommy--” he began.<br/>“What?” The blonde turned to him.<br/>“Do you wanna maybe go for a simple workout at the gym?” he asked.<br/>Tommy looked at him and scuffed his nose,”Why the fuck would I want to go to the gym? Especially since it’s a Saturday and I could spend it doing other things?”<br/>Ranboo flinched at the response. “Yeah your right. It was a dumb idea I had. I was suggesting it because you kinda looked tense…” Ranboo trailed off to a whisper. <br/>“Tense?” Tommy looked at him with a puzzled expression. <br/>Ranboo stared right back at him and with a nonchalant face responded, “Yeah tense as in tired. I was suggesting a workout in hopes it would help you relax.”<br/> Tommy who was sitting criss-crossed on the guest bed just stared at Ranboo sort of shocked. He frowned for a moment before once again speaking, “I appreciate the thought Ranboo. Listen I really do, but I just don’t like mental or physical workouts.” <br/>“Oh,” Ranboo replied quietly. “I mean I get it, we can do something else if you have anything in mind…” <br/>Tommy gazed at Ranboo with the face of amazement. “What made you think a workout was a good idea for relaxation?” he asked. <br/>“Nothing really, just that my dad always suggests exercise when I don’t really have anything to do. That and maybe studying,” he responds.<br/>“Does your dad hate you or something? Mine just tells me to stay out of trouble. As long as I do that he doesn’t care what I do.” Tommy replies back looking around the room as he does.<br/>“My step-dad suggests exercise. He likes sports and he really wants me to be a sports son I guess. My biological dad likes movies and games.” Ranboo explains.<br/>Tommy stops looking around and looks back at Ranboo, “Oh your parents are remarried? Is that why you moved here?”<br/>Ranboo looked up and gave a half smile, “Yeah they are. They divorced when I was young but they get along a lot better now than when they were married.” <br/>“That’s good. At least it wasn’t a messy divorce…” Tommy trailed off to silence.<br/>Ranboo looked at Tommy with a curious expression. He wondered why he suddenly went quiet when talking on the subject of parents. His curiosity got the best of him, so he began asking him questions. “So what are your parents like? Do you get along?” he started off. <br/>Tommy was saddened a bit by the question. Still he replied, “My parents are wonderful, they’ve been happily married ever since I was born. At the moment however, I wouldn’t really say I get along with them.” <br/>“Ah, I’m sorry for bringing it up,” Ranboo began apologizing with a flustered face. <br/>“No it’s alright, I’ve said it before. I’m not always that great a son to be honest…” Tommy replied.</p>
<p>	Both of the boys sat around in complete silence for a minute or two before they heard a knock at the door. Ranboo’s mom popped open the door and peeked into the room. Both of the boys looked straight at her. </p>
<p>“Oh hey mom did you need something?” Ranboo asked. <br/>“I don’t mean to ruin your time together, but Ranboo your friend seems to be needed back home. His brother has come to pick him up and he’s waiting downstairs,” his mom told them.<br/>Tommy looked at Ranboo’s mother almost as if he was scared, “My brother? By any chance did you happen to catch his name?” <br/>His mother thought for a moment, “I believe he introduced himself as Wilbur…”</p>
<p>   Tommy ran past Ranboo’s mother and went downstairs as soon as he heard those words. Ranboo and his mother stood there confused and a bit concerned before following the boy downstairs. By the time they got there everyone seemed to have gone to the living room to discuss things. Tommy was standing in the middle of the living room looking nervous as his brother was talking with Ranboo’s father. Ranboo stood next to Tommy only because he seemed very uncomfortable due to his brother’s presence. The boys stood quiet as Wilbur used his charm to explain to Ranboo’s parents why Tommy needed to go home. Of course, it would have been fine if Wilbur hadn’t been lying about how Tommy got here in the first place. It was a white lie Ranboo caught on to because he was the one who picked up Tommy when he initially ran away from home. Wilbur was telling a story of Tommy being rebellious and going out to hang with his friends despite not being allowed to. Ranboo saw how Tommy didn’t seem to refute any of what Wilbur was saying so he stayed quiet.</p>
<p>   By the time the conversation was done Tommy had calmed down from his initial shock. It was clear that Tommy, by this point, needed to go home. Ranboo’s parents had been sold on the story Wilbur told and even conversed about teenagers being rebellious by default. The conversation eventually led to how the adults worried when the rebellious phase a teenager gets will hit. The spotlight was brought to Ranboo as his parents believed he was an angel, a kid who did as his parents told and didn’t complain. Ranboo hated being talked about around adults, especially if they were family. The thought of people talking about every little thing he did set him off. He didn’t like being the center of attention much, and when he was he made sure it was for something he wanted to be acknowledged for. Nevertheless, the conversation went on as Tommy was getting ready to leave. </p>
<p>   Ranboo’s parents gave their numbers over to Wilbur who also shared his contacts for whenever they needed help finding Tommy. Upon hearing this Tommy threw a bit of a fit, but not enough compared to when Ranboo first met him. The two families exchanged goodbyes before Tommy got into Wilbur’s car. Ranboo reminded Tommy to call or text him whenever he was bored or needed a favor. Tommy gave Ranboo a thumbs up as Wilbur pulled out the driveway. Tommy waved Ranboo goodbye with a smile on his face as they drove away from the home. Ranboo couldn’t do much besides smiling and waving back. Despite him seemingly agreeing to<br/> text him back, Ranboo never received a text from Tommy that weekend. </p>
<p>   When Monday rolled around Tommy greeted Ranboo with a smile as they walked into school that day. He never brought up what happened that weekend, so Ranboo decided to not bring it up. He continued on with school because as far as he knew, it wasn’t right to bring up things that had nothing to do with him. Even if it somehow did involve him, he was living life perfectly fine without actually knowing about it. As the weeks went by Ranboo became a lot better friends with Tommy. They hung out during and after school. Ranboo eventually got to meet Tommy’s other friends. Friends who knew him a lot better, but still saw him as the loud, stubborn, and especially idiotic friend they know and love. There was Jack Manifold, Alex Quackity, and Tubbo. There were more, but Ranboo frequently saw those three hanging around Tommy the most. They were almost inseparable, more so Tommy and Tubbo. </p>
<p>   He understood that Tommy and Tubbo were the bestest of friends. They were known all throughout school as the pair to never separate. So when October rolled around and Tubbo actively tried to avoid Tommy, all Ranboo could do was watch as the two teens began to avoid each other more and more. He witnessed how Tommy was somewhat left out of their group activities every now and then. He’d always tried to spend time with Tommy whenever he’d expressed to him he was bored. Due to his now hectic school schedule even Ranboo began hanging out with Tommy less and less. Ranboo wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. Until he was told by Niki, a Junior who just so happened to be in the same classroom when the incident occurred. She was a very nice girl, who Ranboo knew of because she was in his film class. She explained that Tommy had deliberately destroyed a project a senior had been working on in their architecture class. </p>
<p>   Apparently, Tommy thought it was a bright idea to mess with a senior’s project that was a scale model of a realistic mushroom cottage house. The incident itself caused a fire in the 3rd floor woodworks classroom because Tommy had used a liter to partially burn the wooden model. The wood had somehow caused a miniature fire that before was put out, burned over half of the project. The damage was irreversible, and Tommy was in some deep shit because of it. Tommy could have probably gone away with a month’s detention and having to clean up the mess if it weren’t for the students he had angered in the process. Students who just so happen to have been very popular with both the students and teachers in the school. George, the senior who’s project was ruined, wasn't too pleased with Tommy. His best friend, widely known as Dream, was downright furious with him. Both Dream and George made it clear to the school as well as the student-body that Tommy was a public safety-threat. The label had fit him a bit too well, and eventually Tommy became the new gossip in the school halls. How Ranboo didn’t catch wind of this was very surprising. </p>
<p>   Ranboo didn’t know how to feel in this situation. He was friends with both Tommy and Tubbo. On one hand he didn’t like how Tubbo and his other friends were isolating Tommy, but on the other he couldn’t really empathise with Tommy because he put the safety of others at risk for a stupid prank. In the end, Ranboo did what he knew best. He stayed quiet about his thoughts on both sides of the situation, and tried his best to split his time evenly between his two friends. When the other students saw Tommy began to hang out with Ranboo a lot more than Tubbo there was talk about the two “falling off”. Lots of kids made a point to make fun of the situation, even going as far as posting memes about it on the school website. “Friendship ended with Tubbo. Now Ranboo is my new best friend,” was one Ranboo saw a lot. He wasn’t sure if Tubbo or Tommy ever saw them because neither made a point to ever address it. He was worried Tommy was letting the comments get to him. If Ranboo was in Tommy’s shoes he probably would have. </p>
<p>   Like any other situation that revolves around publicity and fame, people often like to criticise others on just about anything from the way they may look to how they speak. Just like fame, highschool drama is ruthless when concerning what people do or say. In the world of highschool hardly anyone is safe from being talked about amongst their peers. Tommy was no exception to this rule. Ranboo worried because he knew people talked shit no matter if what they were saying was true or not. The truth didn’t matter when it made for a good story. Was a majority of highschool drama total bullshit? Yes, but the fact that hardly anyone knows what’s the truth or what are lies is what keeps highschool drama thriving. Ranboo couldn’t really wrap his head around just what to do with Tommy. So much so, that he eventually kept track of his one-shot ideas in a journal. Ranboo found it’s easier to confine in notebooks rather than people about his feelings. It saved him the trouble of people not caring enough, or people worrying about every little thing he did. However, this method still left him empty handed with how to help Tommy. </p>
<p>   Ranboo decided he should just talk to Tommy. As much as Tommy didn’t like talking about himself or his feelings, Ranboo thought maybe he’d be willing to share with him. Maybe then he could finally understand him even if just a bit. Tommy was one of his first friends at this school. Ranboo sure as hell wanted to do all he can to help him. Throughout his classes Ranboo thought of ways he’d start his conversation with Tommy. Eventually he settled for texting him to come over at his place. Hopefully Tommy was allowed to come over. If not he’d settle for staying over at his place. </p>
<p>Ranboo: Hey Tommy do you wanna come over tonight?<br/>TommyInnit: can’t big man my old man isn’t letting me out the house<br/>Ranboo: What<br/>Ranboo: Why<br/>TommyInnit: because of all the talk in school<br/>TommyInnit: also because the principal told him everything<br/>TommyInnit: he kinda flipped his shit ngl<br/>Ranboo: oh yeah i wanted to talk to you about that<br/>Ranboo: Do you think I could stop by your place then?<br/>TommyInnit: I don't’ think my dad will accept visitors but<br/>TommyInnit: If you feel like climbing to my second story window at like 8 or something<br/>TommyInnit: then be my guest<br/>Ranboo: Tommy my dad makes me do exercise daily<br/>Ranboo: I’m pretty sure i can climb up a measly two stories<br/>TommyInnit: i’ll believe it when I see it</p>
<p>   And with that Ranboo was set to visit Tommy. If things went well he might just finish the night with no broken bones. Or have a restraining order placed against him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I going to try to have dream smp related events in the highschool setting, but I'm not a great writer so I'm sot sure if I'm going to be able to pull it off right. I still want to add my own spin to what the characters do so I'm going to keep related events very limited.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. This Could Only End Well</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ranboo makes his way to Tommy's place. Once there things quickly go south. Ranboo witnesses Tommy get lectured by one of his brothers. By the looks of it Tommy just dug himself a deeper hole. Ranboo can't help but worry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As the school bell signified the end of classes, Ranboo quickly walked to his car. He’d prefer to get home as soon as possible to get ready for his visit to Tommy’s later. Luckily for him, he easily slipped by his friends as they were planning an outing with the excuse of having to hit the books. Of course, the only revising Ranboo was going to do was asking Tommy a bunch of questions. It was a white lie on Ranboo’s part, but it helped get his friends off his back just for that night. On the drive back home Ranboo was finalizing his plans with Tommy through call of course, since Ranboo was taught to never text and drive. It was set that Ranboo was to leave his home around 7pm and get to Tommy’s at around 7:30. From there Ranboo was to go around the back and climb up to Tommy’s window where Tommy would be waiting. The plan was simple: Make sure no one in the house finds Ranboo there. It was supposed to be a simple short visit and then quickly depart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the plan settled Ranboo finally got home and was greeted by his sisters and mother at the door. His father was still at work it seemed. Ranboo was relieved as this made it all the more easier to go out without too many questions being asked. Ranboo had around 3 hours to lounge around the house. He decided to just spend the time helping his sisters with homework they were in no hurry to finish. It was a very relaxing evening as Ranboo sat around the dinner table and assisted them with any questions they had. Ranboo cherished these times because it was the very few moments he actually got to do what he wanted. Moments he wasn’t trying to meet others expectations or impress people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Ranboo enjoyed living in the moment, it went by quickly. By the time Ranboo set off to visit Tommy his father was still not yet home. Hopefully when Ranboo got back his father was too tired to ask where he had gone. Needless to say, Ranboo tried to quickly get to Tommy’s. When he did eventually pull up to Tommy’s home he realized that he couldn’t exactly park right in front of his home. If he did, anyone looking from inside could easily see him sneak to the back of the home. Ranboo opted to park down the street and walk up to the home. Sticking to the side where no one is able to see him clearly. The neighborhood Tommy lived in was for the typical upper class. So much so that if Ranboo was ever caught trespassing on private property, there would surely be dire consequences. Thankfully Ranboo didn’t have to think about that as he had already successfully reached the backyard without anyone seeing him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ranboo sent a text alerting Tommy he had arrived and was waiting. Within a minute he saw a curtain and window open and Tommy’s face pop out. Once Ranboo knew just where he had to go he started to climb up, or at least he tried. Turns out that Ranboo can’t climb the side of a home at all. Instead, Ranboo had to resort to climbing a tree that was also in the backyard. Why didn't he climb it in the first place? No one knows. The good news was Ranboo managed to not fall and break his bones while attempting to get up the tree. All was well in the grand scheme of things. That was, until the teens heard someone outside the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Technoblade had just so happened to have needed something in Tommy’s room. It had come to quite a shock especially to Tommy. His brother didn’t usually ever ask Tommy for anything, especially if that something could ever be found in Tommy’s room. It had been a stroke of bad luck. The boys were doomed to be caught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Tommy open the door. I need to check if I left my jacket amongst yours when I put away your wash yesterday,” Techno said aloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy froze up and began to panic, “You don’t need to worry Techno. I’ll find it myself and hand it to you later!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno paused but stood firm, “Look, I’d rather look for it myself if you don’t mind. I’m scared you might ruin it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy went straight for the door and opened it just enough for techno to see a part of his face. “Look Techno it’s my room and I don’t want you in it. I can get you your sweater no later than tomorrow afternoon,” he says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno looks directly down and stares at Tommy. “You have 5 seconds before I break down this door and drop-kick you,” he says in a monotone voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy gives a nervous chuckle and slams the door closed. He turns to Ranboo and in a loud whisper says, “You heard the man Ranboo, hide somewhere!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ranboo flinches and quickly decides to hide in Tommy’s closet (the one place he seemed to fit) as he proceeds to open the door for Technoblade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ranboo crouched in the closet awkwardly as Technoblade was let in. He listened in on the conversation they were having. It just so happened that the jacket technoblade was looking for was in the exact closet Ranboo had hid in. This was a problem as the main point of the operation was to not get caught. Tommy was in enough trouble as it was and this incident could  probably break the camel’s back. Tommy knew this. He attempted to once again advise Techno that he wouldn’t find what he was looking for in there. He gestured to the opposite side of his room and suggested starting to look there first. Ranboo didn’t know what to do in this situation. They were practically cornered on all sides due to Ranboo having no way to get out of the closet without Tehcno catching him leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno by this point, had already concreted his suspicions and began asking Tommy what the hell was going on. He seemed to be ticked off and annoyed for the most part. Almost as if he knew anything the blonde replied with was more trouble than it was worth. Tommy knowing exactly what Techno was thinking took offense. He wasn't necessarily wrong with his deduction, it’s just that Tommy had hoped his brother would have a little faith in him. Though, Tommy couldn’t really expect that anymore with the way his reputation had tanked over the years. Knowing this Tommy just sat on his bed and placed his head in his hands in a tired motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quickly told Ranboo to come out of hiding. Ranboo hesitantly did, getting stares from Techno as he did. He was initially shocked but that was quickly replaced with a lecture to Tommy about causing trouble. Techno didn’t mask his disappointment with Tommy in the slightest. The scene left a bad taste in Ranboo’s mouth. Ranboo watched as Tommy sat there and took in the lecture in full. He didn’t say much in reply beside the occasional nod and “I’m sorry” which made everything the more painful to watch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Techno was done lecturing Tommy he went straight to Ranboo. Asking him a whole list of questions that Ranboo gave vague answers to. After the first few replies Techno concluded he wouldn’t get much info from him. Techno simply told Tommy that their father would hear of this. Tommy didn’t look all that happy hearing that. Ranboo was told that he would have to stay for dinner. It wasn’t an option, but rather an order. Ranboo simply nodded, getting a nod back from Techno as he left the room. Ranboo assumed he went off to inform everyone else in the home of what just happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ranboo sat next to Tommy on his bed. Tommy’s presence became a lot more deflated after the lecture he was given. Ranboo just gave him a glance and asked if he was alright. Tommy sighed and returned back to his laid-back tone. He told Ranboo he was fine and informed him that dinner was served around 8:30 and they'd have to wait around for a while until then. Ranboo just nodded. From there Tommy showed him around his room in an attempt to forget about the whole lecture. Ranboo went along with it giving comments here and there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a fun little moment. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This took forever because of procrastination as well as school. Long story short it started back up again and guess what? I got intro to coding this semester :)) pogchamp. <br/>Anways see you in like 3 days or a month maybe who knows depends if I wanna write or not lmao</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my first fan-fiction and I saw how there were few stories on Ranboo so I decided to center this one around him and his time at highschool. I also wanted to write about Tommy so I'm making this story revolve around those two and how they share similar life problems. I kind of have no plan for this story at all so I'm winging a bunch of it. I plan to write angst in this because I'm a sucker for those. Apologies in advance for any spelling or general writing mistakes I might make. I did this all on a google docs and I have no clue on how to actually format this at all. I'm honestly crossing my fingers and hoping for the best here.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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